The present invention relates to support structures, and pertains particularly to light weight high strength gun mount and support structure.
Support structure, which also serves to house or enclose machinery and mechanisms, typically employ a complex frame of beams and girders covered by a sheet metal skin. The sheet metal skin may also be stressed and secured to the support frame in a manner to aid in the strength and rigidity of the overall structure. Such structures are generally satisfactory where strength to weight ratio is not of critical importance.
In many applications, such as military and aerospace, light weight, high strength support structures are critical. Gun mounts, for example, must have very high strength and rigidity in order to withstand the shock loads from recoil when the gun is fired. They must be able to provide high gun pointing accuracy and to create high response frequencies in the gun pointing control system. Such mounts must also be light weight and easily transportable.
It is also desirable that such structure be inexpensive and easy to manufacture. In this regard, it is desirable that the number of parts that must be secured together in fabricating the structure be minimized. A reduction in the length of seams or joints that must be welded also contributes to the ease and economy of construction.
When the gun mount structure also serves as a housing for control components for the gun, accessibility to such components is also an important consideration. The number, size, and location of access openings or doors can affect the strength and weight of the structure.